Hello everyone! I am finally back from my trip, and am ready to get back into the loop of things. So I thought, “What would be more fitting post to write than post-vacation blues?”. Now, I was not completely on “vacation”. I was not on a pleasure trip, so I am not experiencing this syndrome as much. However, we have all experienced the feeling of post-vacation blues at one point in time. What is it like? Well, I am glad you asked!

Imagine this: You are going to a family reunion. You are not particularly excited for the family reunion, because that means you have to actually “reunion” with your extended family. Nevertheless, you go to the reunion, and end up having more fun then you expected. It had been years since you had met some of your relatives, and your Aunt Margret is a better cook than you remembered. Your cousins now actually do stuff that are interesting. Your Uncle Carl and Uncle James finally recognized you as an adult, and your Grandma remembered your name by the end of the reunion!

However, all good things must come to an end. You fly back, and arrive home past midnight and instantly fall asleep on your bed.

You finally wake up the next morning and roll out of bed. You stumble across your house, into your kitchen and make some coffee. As you wait for the coffee to make coffee, a sudden feeling sets in…a feeling of…boredom. You had just got back from your family vacation and you are already bored? How could this possibly be? Your coffee finishes brewing, and you grab a cup and go to work (or school). The entire day, you find yourself just feeling…bleh. New memo? Bleh. Biology class? Bleh. No matter what you do or where you go, everything is so…bleh!

Have you ever felt this way? If so, then you probably have suffered from post-vacation blues. Post-vacation blues is the type of mood or feeling a person has when they return back home to their normal routine, after being gone on vacation. What are some of the symptoms of post-vacation blues? They can be different from person to person, but it is common to experience:

Tiredness

Lack of an appetite

Lack of motivation

Short-temper

Nostalgic thoughts or day-dreaming

The effects of post-vacation blues can last a few days to even a few weeks in extreme cases. However, if you want to hurdle over post-vacation blues as quickly as possible, what are some things that can be done?

Do something that makes you happy. Maybe eat a candy bar, listen to a comedian or draw a picture. Do whatever makes you happy. This will increase the dopamine in the brain, and give you a sudden feeling of satisfaction.

Cook something you ate on your vacation. Now, personally, I have not done this one before, but it sounds like a great idea. First, you learn something new (and delicious) to cook, but secondly, it will make your vacation and your home-life have something in common.

Be happy you were on vacation. Most of the time, we will think to ourselves “Boy! I wish I was back at insert vacation location.“However, change that thinking into appreciating your vacation, and remembering the good times.

Look towards the future. Maybe you are having a BBQ at a friends house in a week, or you have a concert in a month. Look forward to those events, instead of focusing on the past vacation. If you do not have anything to look forwards to, then plan something fun to do. One of the best ways to get your mind off the past is to focus on the future.

Just get over it. I know it is not that simple, but at a certain point, you have to just fight through it, and get along through your day. Life is too short to be sad about something in the past! Live your live to your highest potential, and leave behind something you can be proud of!

Thank you all for sticking around! I know I have not wrote for a week, but now I am back, so expect some more content around Friday! And remember, do WLYF!